Ladies, if I can offer one bit of advice….find a man who can cook. 10/10 recommend an Italian with old Italian family recipes. Okay, maybe not old but it sounds more dramatic and hey…..there may be some truth to it as Adamo’s Nonna was from Sicily and I’m certain these recipes were passed down over the generations. On our second date, Adamo drove all the way down here from Montana to cook me dinner and I don’t want to say it was love at first bite, but it was pretty damn close.
If you’ve picked up the most recent Winter issue of Dishing, you’ll spot us on page 83. I love us in these photos! The piece is around living and cooking in a small space and I was honored when Ali, the editor of Dishing, asked us to be a part of it. They are such a great publication if you want to learn more about the local food scene here including where to eat when you’re visiting. They highlight local tastemakers and give recipes on your favorite local dishes. (Here is a digital copy.)
I won’t give away the whole article, which you can pick up for free on stands now, but I did want to share the lovely photos by Lindley Rust and of course, the recipe from Adamo’s Nonna, which is actually quite simple! His Nonna’s recipe called for veal, but we used elk from a local butcher and it tastes just as great with an easy arugula salad with fresh ingredients from Vertical Harvest.
ELK MILANESE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 6 elk (or veal) cutlets from your local butcher. We go to Sweet Cheeks
- 3 farm fresh eggs
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 cups Italian style bread crumbs
- 2-3 big handfuls of arugula
- 6 cherry tomatoes, cut into sixths. We use Vertical Harvest Farms
- Fresh basil from our garden
- EVOO
- 1/2 lemon, cut in half
FOLLOW THESE STEPS
- You want veal cutlets to be around 1/4” thick. If they are a bit thicker, place in plastic wrap and pound out. You can use a meat tenderizer or a can of soup.
- In a medium saute pan, pour in around 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on medium heat. Allow oil to heat for at least 10 minutes before cooking.
- Grate cheese and mix in with Italian bread crumbs.
- Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk. Grint 1/2 teaspoon of pepper into the eggs.
- Dredge cutlets in egg, making sure both sides of meat are coated. Pick up cutlet from one end, allowing excess egg to drip back into bowl. Next, drop cutlet into bowl containing breadcrumbs. Flip cutlet from side to side in breadcrumbs, ensuring both sides have a healthy covering of breadcrumbs. NOTE: I have a severe egg allergy for this step I use olive oil instead of egg which acts as a decent binding agent for breadcrumbs, if you need an alternative.
- Carefully lay breaded cutlets into saute pan. Cook on either side until a rich golden brown on medium high heat.
- Remove and place on a platter, lightly salt with sea salt.
- Serve with simple salad
FOR EASY ARUGULA SALAD
- Toss arugula, tomatoes, basil, and extra parmesan shavings in a medium bowl with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over elk milanese
- Insert Italian hand emoji and enjoy!